


Tiny, Decent Things

by ArcherUmi



Category: Sora no Woto | Sound of the Sky
Genre: Angst, Background Character Death, Gen, Music, Self-Doubt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28831953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcherUmi/pseuds/ArcherUmi
Summary: A proper military funeral deserves a bugler.
Relationships: Kazumiya Rio & Sorami Kanata





	Tiny, Decent Things

**Author's Note:**

> I am once again asking you to watch Sora no Woto if you haven't. Some minor early series spoilers.

It was springtime when Rio had taught her the song, not long after she had first arrived in Seize.

The afternoon that day was mild, with scattered clouds overhead, as she practiced in the fortress courtyard, Rio gruffly giving her instructions and pointers as she tried her best to make the sound come out right. She was still mastering some of the basic calls then, the ones she'd started to learn in boot camp that they dutifully played from dawn until dusk to keep the time. And by which, she'd learned soon after she first came to the fortress, the townspeople had over the years come to keep time by each day as well.

Finishing another disheartening attempt, where she just couldn't make her poor bugle do quite what her breath asked of it, Rio had stopped her again.

"Alright. Let's try another one."

Kanata lowered her bugle from her mouth, watching and listening carefully as Rio raised her own instrument. She closed her eyes and began to play, the tune steadily rising up and growing louder, reaching a peak with a flourish of notes and then trailing away, the notes growing longer and further apart – more sorrowful – until, finally, the sound faded entirely.

At first, Rio didn't say anything as she finished playing. She hadn't known Rio very long, and she struck Kanata as a fairly guarded, hard to read person, but she thought she was decent enough at reading people in general and something struck her as subtly off about her, in that moment and in the conversation that followed it.

"What's this call, Rio-senpai?".

Another beat passed silently, a light wind blowing the clouds across the sky.

"The _Sonnerie aux Morts_ ", Rio answered, her tone matter-of-fact but still more somber than usual for her, eyes turning to gaze upward off into the sky. "It's for mourning, more or less. Generally we'd play it for soldiers' funerals."

Kanata paused a moment herself, wondering what to say, if she should even say anything, before the words came out of her mouth. "...Have you played it before?".

Rio glanced away from the sky and back to her, a blank look on her face that seemed to say that yes, of course she'd played it before, at the very least just now and presumably many more times in her life to practice it. Or if not, that it was, as Kanata had realized herself as she said it, an inappropriate question to ask. But her expression soon softened a little, and she thought she saw a hint of pain on her face instead.

"Yeah--", she said. "--One time. I played it for a relative's funeral. She was a soldier too". Rio's composure quickly returned, but even at the time Kanata had a feeling what she said was a kind of white lie. "...It was a few years ago now. We weren't all that close."

Rio cleared her throat. "Anyway, you try it now, Kanata."

Kanata nodded, raising the instrument to her lips again, and started playing.

She was always someone who tried – more than trying, really, it was just in her nature – to keep her head up and never let things get to her too much if she could, but she found it harder than usual that evening. Even if there was only a ceasefire and not a peace, the reality of being a soldier could sometimes feel remote to her, especially in such a seemingly sleepy town as Seize – she had to remind herself it really wasn't so far away from the border at all – and especially as someone who had grown up far from the front lines.  
______________________________

It was the cusp of summertime now, the air hot and the skies clear and blue and the first of the summer vegetables in the fortress' garden growing ripe, and her playing had gotten better over the past few months. The townspeople had warmed up to her a little too, now that the bugle calls weren't so dreadful whenever she was on duty. She had a bit more confidence, less doubt to tarnish her natural optimism. For the most part.

Kanata hadn't really known the man who'd died, though she imagined they'd likely crossed paths at some point, another person she had passed by on the street, maybe greeting him before going along her own way or maybe just seeing him out of the corner of her eye. Even in a small town like Seize, it wasn't always true that everybody knew everybody, and she was a relative newcomer still, even if she had gotten settled in at the fortress by now. She had overheard a few people talking about it at the market when she went in to town to pick up supplies and hadn't been able to help listening in a little, about how he had lived alone and didn't seem to have any close relatives, reminisces about his modest eccentricities and old gossip. Someone she knew or not, her heart broke a little.

She wasn't quite inconspicuous in her uniform, and even if she had been off duty many of the people in town recognized her and knew she was a soldier. And so it was that one of the people she'd overheard had approached Kanata, while she waited for a shopkeeper to retrieve the supplies she'd come for, with a small request.

The boxes from the market unloaded from the car and put away, Kanata rapped on the door to the commander's office, tugging at the collar of her jacket. Hopefully it was about the time of year to switch out their uniforms for summer khakis.

"Come in", she heard Filicia answer. She opened the door and stepped inside, seeing Filicia at her desk with a few papers in front of her and Rio leaning against one of the open balcony doors, a soft, cool breeze blowing in through them.

"Ah, Kana-chan", Filicia greeted her. "Good afternoon. Did you need anything?".

"Mhm...--". She felt like she was forgetting something. "--Ah, the supplies have been acquisitioned and stored!".

"Thank you, Kana-chan", she answered, smiling warmly. "If that's all, you're free for the day."

"Actually, umm...--", she started, a bit uneasy as she tried to think of how best to say it. "--There was someone I ran into at the market while I was there who had a request... He had been talking with some other people about someone who passed away, and he told me he – the person who passed away, I mean – had been a soldier. And since he didn't seem to have any close relatives to mourn him he thought he at least deserved the proper military honors, so...".

Filicia nodded, her smile having faded as Kanata spoke. "I see. I'll make sure everything is arranged... Thank you for relaying that to me. Oh, did you happen to get his name?".

"Mhm... Francois-san... Oh, I didn't get his family name or where he lived though, but it was Bernard-san who lives by Naomi-san's glassware shop who talked to me, so if you ask him...".

She nodded again as Kanata trailed off. "That's fine, yes. I'll make sure of everything."

"Then...", Kanata said, giving a loose salute as Filicia looked down at her papers again. "I'll be going now". She turned to leave, but as she did Rio, who had been quietly contemplative as she spoke to the platoon's commander, finally spoke up.

"Kanata."

Stopped in her tracks, she turned around again to face her.

"You've gotten better."

She paused for a moment before replying and smiled a little, for the first time since that morning, at the compliment. "...Thank you, Rio-senpai."

Once again she went to go, but before she could Rio continued.

"I think you should play the _Sonnerie aux Morts_ for the funeral."

The smile left Kanata's face, and the peace of mind she felt at Rio's praise, and more importantly doing her small part to fulfill the request, was replaced by her lingering doubts. Even if she'd improved, and she could tell herself that she had, and even if Rio told her she had as well, she certainly still wasn't as good as she was. For the day-to-day calls, that was fine. She was happy just to be about good enough, especially when she was still improving day by day too. But she couldn't convince herself that her playing would be a suitable last honor.

"...I don't know", she said, looking down at her feet before her eyes darted up again to look at Rio. "Um... I think it would be better if you did, Rio-senpai. I haven't even practiced it much since you played it for me."

Rio stood up straight and walked over to her, passing Filicia's desk where the commander had again turned her attention away from her paperwork, and laid her hand on Kanata's shoulder. "You'll be fine, Kanata."

She glanced at the desk. "...Filicia-san?".

"If Rio thinks so it should be fine, right?", she said.

"Practice it a few times--", Rio said, her hand leaving her shoulder. "--If you really don't think you can, come tell me."

With that Rio stepped around her and exited the room, leaving them. Kanata stood awkwardly for a moment as Filicia gave her an encouraging look and then started writing.

"Well... I'll be going now too then, Filicia-san."

After she'd excused herself, she made her way to her quarters to retrieve her bugle and her book of sheet music before returning to the courtyard, standing under the shade of a tree near one corner as she spent a few minutes on her usual warm-up exercises. Stopping to take a breath and read the notes on the page, she thought back to how it had sounded when Rio played it, set the book down on the bench, and once again raised the mouthpiece to her lips.

She stood there practicing for some time, as the sun crossed the sky and eventually began to tinge the blue sky with splashes of orange and pink and the air cooled with the approach of evening, as Kureha strolled across the courtyard – pausing only a moment to listen to her playing before hurrying along when she finished the tune without saying a word – and, not an hour later, back and as Noël sleepily peeked out from behind a door before closing it and going on her way as well. Until finally, what must have been a few hours later, she plopped down on the ground and sat against the tree trunk, looking up at the sky through its leaves.

It would probably be dinner soon at this hour. She must have lost track of time and played it dozens of times, Kanata realized. And yet, each time she found she wasn't quite satisfied she'd gotten it right. She decided it would be best to sleep on it, but she'd already made up her mind what she would tell Rio tomorrow.

After an uneventfully pleasant meal and a short bath, she returned to her quarters, said a goodnight to Kureha, and turned in, pulling the sheets up over her head.  
______________________________

Kanata awoke the next day, as she always did, just before dawn. Kureha, as she always was, was still asleep in the bed across from her as she got up, quickly changed, and collected her bugle, sprawled out with her sheets kicked off her by her feet. She made her way up to the fortress walls, taking in the deep blue sky slowly beginning to fill with light, the air still cool before daybreak came and heated it, and, even if there was more weighing on her mind than usual, managed to smile before playing the morning's reveille.

After breakfast – during which Filicia had cheerfully announced her official order permitting the wearing of summer uniforms – and after she'd completed her morning duties, she went looking for Rio, soon finding her in the hangar conversing with Noël. Kanata approached her as they finished talking, Noël vanishing into one of the Takemikazuchi's open hatches and Rio looking over her shoulder at the sound of her footsteps on the concrete floor.

"Kanata."

She nodded. "...I wanted to talk about the song."

They walked to the hangar's entrance, a dilapidated wall with much of the surface missing – including where Kanata imagined a set of massive doors may once have been, a long time ago – the rest covered in cracks and vines and in places only remaining as a skeleton of metal bars that once reinforced the concrete. Her and Rio stood by the gap, just within the area the similarly decaying roof shielded from the hot sun, and looked out at the towering cliffside not far away.

"Did you practice it yesterday like I told you?".

"Mhm. I did", Kanata answered. "But... I don't know if I should do it. I practiced a lot but never seemed to play it perfectly--", she glanced aside at Rio. "--I think you should play instead. I don't think I'm good enough to... Not for something like that. I'm sorry, Rio-senpai."

"It's fine. If you don't think you can yet it's not something to apologize for."

"Thank you."

"One thing though--". Rio turned to face her. "--I want you to play it for me."

"Eh? Um... Ok. Let me get my bugle."

Rio nodded as she hurried back to her room, returning with the instrument and her music. She read over the notes to make sure she had them right, closing the book and setting it down on a stray box inside before opening her case. Removing the bugle from it, she took a deep breath and began to play.

Listening quietly until after the last note faded away into nothing, Rio clapped as she finished.

"That's good, Kanata."

"...You think so?", she asked.

"Yeah". Rio stepped out into the sun, shielding her eyes with her hand. "Wait here."

Kanata waited as Rio left, sitting down on the floor by the wall and listening to birds chirping in the distance and a few clunks and thuds emanating from the Takemikazuchi as Noël worked at repairing something in the cockpit. Not long after, she returned, her trumpet in hand. After a few warm-ups, she paused, took a breath, and put her lips to the mouthpiece again before she began. The same beautiful sound, haunting as it trailed away and became quieter and quieter, that she remembered hearing that spring afternoon.

"How would you say that was?", Rio asked as she finished, lowering the instrument.

"...Wonderful. It sounded perfect."

"It wasn't", she replied bluntly. "I made a mistake. Did you hear it?".

She searched her mind, trying to replay the song in her head. "Uh... Oh, the first note was a tiny bit high, wasn't it?".

Rio nodded. "Yeah. I held it for too long, too. So it wasn't perfect, was it?".

"Yeah... I guess not", Kanata said. "But still... It sounded wonderful, Rio-senpai!".

"You... You really don't need to keep praising it so much", Rio said, glancing away and seeming a bit embarrassed. As usual, the break in her composure was swiftly mended. "It's easy to notice all your own mistakes. And it's not always bad to. That's part of how you grow. But focus on it too much, and you'll stop hearing the music as it is."

"When I played it for my--", there was a split-second pause in her voice, as if she wasn't sure what word to use, "--relative's funeral I wasn't as good at playing as I am now. I didn't think I was ready either". She looked directly at Kanata. "But I never would've been ready. So I had to just do it at some point. I think that's what the person who taught me would have said... Though maybe she would have been more gentle than me in saying it."

Rio started walking away. "Keep up your practice, Kanata."

Kanata took a deep breath and exhaled. "...Rio-senpai."

She stopped, looking back over her shoulder.

"I...", Kanata said. "I'll do it, Rio-senpai. I'll play."

A little smile came over Rio's face.

"Good luck. I'm sure you'll do fine."  
______________________________

Evening had come, the sky above them a deep gold that would soon fade to purple twilight. She hadn't been busy that afternoon after she'd spoken to Rio, and had been left alone with her thoughts as she practiced the _Sonnerie aux Morts_ a few more times just to make sure she had it down as best she could. Rio's advice at least had calmed her nerves, and she'd had an easier time playing, dwelling less on her mistakes and trying to hear the music through them. Later, as afternoon turned to evening, Filicia had returned from town after having helped make the final arrangements for the funeral, and had talked her through the proper ceremony and what her responsibilities to it were.

It would be more proper for dress uniforms to be worn, but even a thorough search of the fortress had failed to turn any up. Standard uniforms, then, had to suffice, if only because they were at least somewhat more formal than khaki.

As they – in the end, every member of the platoon had decided to attend the service – drove in silence, Kanata thought of another piece of advice Rio had given her. It too had been not long after she had first arrived in Seize, when she had gotten sick and admitted to Rio how useless she'd felt.

" _Just remember how much it hurt, how powerless it felt, and how happy you were to be protected--_ ", she'd said then. " _\--And someday, when you're in a position to protect someone, it will help you._ "

She decided to keep it in mind as she played.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the church. Still without a word, they ascended the steps of the church and passed through its doors, filing in and taking seats among mostly empty pews, only two other mourners present, people Kanata recognized from the conversation at the market the day before.

Soon the service began, with Yumina – one of the shrine maidens at the church – lighting incense and the priest saying the eulogy for Sergeant Francois Baten.

The priest called the pallbearers as he finished the eulogy and blessed the man with a posthumous name, and Filicia, Rio, and the two men from the market rose, with the priest leading them from the church to the cemetery as they raised the casket.

Kanata followed behind, solemnly watching at a distance with her bugle in hand at her side, as they lowered it next to the empty grave. Kureha and Noël folded the flag of Helvetia and laid it down on the casket, Rio fired three shots in salute, and finally, the flag was exchanged for a bouquet, Filicia presenting it to one of the mourners.

With all the other ceremonies done and the sky growing dark overhead, only her part remained as the casket was lowered into the earth. She took a deep breath, raising her bugle to her mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea I thought of late last year that I never got around to working on despite every now and again feeling the urge to write it again, and as I tackle some of the stuff I have left over that I'd wanted to get around to before new year's but never did I decided it was time to sit down and hammer it out. I feel like I'd kind of lost the spark for it by the time I did (part of that I think is just that I fell out of the writing mood hard after getting pretty in to it for a few months last fall), and I wasn't sure I was really feeling this at first as I wrote it, but I think it turned out alright in the end.
> 
> I honestly didn't know much about bugle calls (on that note, I don't really know much about music at all, so the discussion of the craft of it here is probably a bit weak), and so I'd originally planned on the story being about Taps before I started researching for it and read about calls used by countries besides the US. The written language in Helvetia seems to be French, so I went with the French military's _Sonnerie aux Morts_.
> 
> Sora no Woto's setting is a very interesting mix of cultures, including religiously, with the dominant religion in Helvetia (and if I remember correctly it's implied that the religion practiced in Rome is similar) being a synthesis of Christian and Japanese beliefs that I tried to reflect with the details of the funeral service. The mention of "one of the shrine maidens at the church" comes off as a bit silly but makes some sense in that context, and I'm not sure "nun" (I forget if the official translation ever calls her a nun, but it's one of the words the series' wiki uses to describe her along with "miko") fits for Yumina because I don't know that her position is actually monastic.
> 
> I'm pretty sure I was inspired at least a little bit by the _West Wing_ episode "In Excelsis Deo" for this. The title this time comes from a podcast interview I listened to a while ago – I don't really remember the full context or if it was a quotation of something, but that line by itself stuck with me.


End file.
